I look at Walker, who is staring at the carpet. I swear I have no idea how this man is a successful corporate attorney.
I can feel my face redden at the question. “Walker …” I bite through clenched teeth.
He takes a deep breath, then meets Eva’s eyes. “Jessie and I are just friends.”
Yikes. Him starting with that feels like someone rubbing salt in the wound. I know it’s true, but after what happened earlier, it’s still hard to hear, especially from his lips.
“And the baby’s name is Eli.” He pauses. “She’s my daughter.”
For a beat, no one breathes. The words hang in the air, heavy and impossible to ignore. Eva’s mouth falls open, her eyes darting between Walker and me, like she’s waiting for one of us to laugh and say it’s a joke. Roman leans back on the sofa and crosses his arms like he’s deciding whether or not he believes it.
Eva finally finds her voice. “Your daughter?” she repeats.
“Yes, my daughter.”
“H-h-h-how?” she follows up.
Walker chuckles lightly. “I think you know the answer to that. I only found out about her last weekend. A girl I’d hooked upwith a couple of times dropped her off at my door. Told me she couldn’t do it anymore.”
“Fuck,” Roman exhales as he realizes Walker isn’t joking.
“Yeah.” Walker nods his head. “That was pretty much my reaction.”
“She just … dropped her off and took off?” Eva asks. “I thought that stuff only happened in the movies.”
“Apparently not,” he responds.
Eva turns her attention to me. “And how do you factor into this?”
“Umm, he called me, freaking out. He needed help.”
Eva’s face falls. “You called Jessie for help, not me?”
I see the look of betrayal in her eyes. Eva and Walker are siblings, but they are also close. They have always been there for one another. She’s hurt that he didn’t call her first.
Walker looks crushed, knowing he hurt her. “I’m sorry, Eva. I didn’t want to stress you out. You have enough going on. The last thing you needed was to worry about helping me figure my own mess out.”
“I could have helped you,” she replies softly. “And how was Jessie your second option? No offense, babe. I love ya. But I figured Walker would know better than to ask you to help since you’d rather make his life harder than easier.”
Walker and I both look at each other and smile.
“He’s not so bad,” I reply, then look at her. “Plus, I told him not to bother you. He needed help. Like, a lot of help. I spent the entire week at his place.”
“You did? Seriously?”
“It was only because I was afraid for the safety of this little one if I left him alone with her.”
Roman chuckles. “Yeah, I can see that.”
“And you didn’t call any of your friends or Mom and Dad?”
“Mom and Dad? Really?” Walker questions. “I needed help. Not a lecture.”
She bites her bottom lip and smiles. “Okay. Fair point.”
“And don’t get me started on my friends. I couldn’t take Roman away from you, and the rest of the guys are as clueless as me.”
Eli decides she has had enough and lets out a loud, shrieking scream. Walker moves to grab her, but I swat his hands away.
